Well before smiley faced whistle blowing club goers were, ‘right on one matey’ and losing themselves in ecstatic bliss on UK dance floors, local Kiwi creators were twiddling knobs and injecting their own brand of synthesised soul into the club scene and national sales charts.

Post punk, studio fused tracks took the raw elements of an anti-establishment mentality whilst embracing new technologies such as sampling keyboards and funky frequencies, to redefine the sounds and styles of what we were used to hearing on our turntables.

From as early as 1979, Mi-Sex, a neo-new wave collective, combined cutting edge studio production with a dynamic live show to expand and explode this new electronic/guitar noise on our unsuspecting eardrums. Led by enigmatic Steve Gilpin as lead vocalist, Mi-Sex scorched the charts with sonic singles ‘People’ and ‘Computer Games’. The later timeless classic rammed a repetitive keyboard loop into the mainstream, full of attitude with a brainwashing beat to hypnotise and exorcise our living rooms.

Another epic slab of energetic experimental ism came in the form of Body Electric, a loose studio based band of post punk pioneers emerging from the ashes of Wellington’s punk and proud The Steroids. Steered by the clever hands of Alan Jansson (yes, he of ‘How Bizarre’ fame), Body Electric tinkled with the idea of aural anarchy via the airwaves of the burgeoning student radio network. 1982 saw their local launch of ‘Pulsing’, an extended mix of chaotic frequencies, which took on the mighty Sheffield synth gods Human League, taking a place on our national charts after nearly 3 months of slow building airplay support. To this day ‘Pulsing’, is highly unique, in that it sounds like a techno time capsule from the future, beat-box blades scraping a mashed up melody from scraps of psychotic ranting, hypnotic, harmful and yet fully immersive.

At this time Split Enz were crafting a less manic mindset and New Zealand culture and sounds were calming down from banging heads and piercing punk provocativeness to a financially fused production experience. Often behind closed doors in well stocked studios, overseas inspiration was flooding into our creative process, with Kraftwerk and Public Image Limited paying a prominent part in shaping our future sounds.

Dave Tucker        

  

Photo: Victor Alexeyev

van der Wel is the musical project of Hamilton-based Phil van der Wel. We first met through a shared love for the slowcore narratives of the American artist Pedro The Lion, and it's wonderful to see Phil's music developing in a way which shows that influence while moving into its own space as well. He's recently released an EP called O Canada, and one of the tracks - British Columbia - is pretty magical. So - before you do anything - I'd really like you to go on and click play right here.

Phil took time out to answer a few questions about his inspirations and the making of O Canada. You can buy a download of the EP for the affordable price of $5 NZD (or more, if you wish) at his Bandcamp.  

Can you tell me about how you got started playing music? What inspired you to get started, and what did you initially set out to do?

Sure. I have been playing music in one form or another since a young age, and first picked up a guitar when I was 11 or 12. I played songs with various school mates throughout middle and high school, and after leaving school started a band with a few friends, playing mostly melodic rock along the lines of Further Seems Forever or Jimmy Eat World (or something). A defining point for me musically was in 2007 when I moved to Canada. Suddenly I was separate from my friends and the music we listened to, and immersed in new friends and new (better?) music - David Bazan, Damien Jurado, Jon-Rae Fletcher, Phosphorescent, Iron and Wine, Fionn Regan, Danielson Family, etc.. I had previously been introduced to some of the music in New Zealand, but more as a side dish rather than the main course. I wanted this music for my starter, mains, and sides. There was no objective in mind, only a desire to sing songs.